CONTROL DENIED, the progressive heavy metal brainchild of legendary DEATH mastermind Chuck Schuldiner, released its first and only album The Fragile Art of Existence in 1999 to massive critical acclaim. Now available for the first time ever as an official vinyl release, The Fragile Art of Existence has been fully remastered with additional bonus tracks and demos plus deluxe repackaging. The vinyl will see it’s official release on June 1st via Relapse Records.

Since its formation in 1983, Chuck Schuldiner was the creative center of the influential heavy metal band, DEATH. Combining strong songwriting with powerful, brutally delivered lyrics, the band was anything if not extreme. Seeking a project a little closer to his classic metal roots, in 1996 Schuldiner assembled CONTROL DENIED, a band which borrowed most of DEATH’s personnel and added the strong and clear vocals of Tim Aymar. Aymar had provided vocals for a string of successful metal bands, including Psycho Scream and he suited the more melodic approach that Schuldiner was looking for.

To Schuldiner, CONTROL DENIED part of a vision — he acted much like a director or coach in bringing that vision to fruition. He maintained tight creative control, yet allowed the creative talents of musicians like Aymar and bassist Steve DiGiorgio to shine through. The project produced one album, The Fragile Art of Existence, in 1999, issued by Nuclear Blast America and now reissued in a deluxe package by Relapse Records in 2018.

Available as a gatefold 2xLP, double picture disc and deluxe 3xLP boxset featuring over an hour of rare material (extra tracks and early demos previously only available on the Relapse deluxe 3xCD reissue), this is the definitive edition of this timeless classic.

You can stream ‘Expect The Unexpected’ now and enjoy the promotional images too if you enjoy pictures of vinyl.

For those unfamiliar with the band, ‘Expect The Unexpected’ is a good place to start. It switches from prog metal to thrash in the blink of an eye, and the vocals are just as unpredictable. With heavy doses of Iron Maiden, Slayer and a whole plethora of other sounds you can’t really go wrong with Control Denied.

Pre-Order The Fragile Art of Existence on 2xLP and deluxe 3xLP boxset via Relapse.com or enjoy the digital version on iTunes, Spotify and Bandcamp etc.